Financial strength indication

ABSTRACT

A method for providing an indication of financial strength includes receiving a financial indicator and a predetermined spending budget status from a user. The predetermined spending budget status is associated with a spending budget for the user that has at least one payment account. The financial indicator is then associated with the predetermined spending budget status. A payment request that includes one of the at least one payment accounts is then received from a merchant. A current spending budget status is then determined using the spending budget and the at least one payment account. The financial indicator is then sent to the merchant for provision to the user in response to the current spending budget status being included in the predetermined spending budget status.

CROSS REFERENCED TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This continuation patent application claims priority to and the benefitof U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/029,521, filed Jul. 6, 2018,which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/618,994,filed Sep. 14, 2012, the contents of which are incorporated by referencein their entirety.

BACKGROUND Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to online and/or mobile paymentsystems and more particularly to indication of financial strength thatmay be used with, for example, online and mobile payment systems.

Related Art

More and more consumers are purchasing items and services overelectronic networks such as, for example, the Internet. Consumersroutinely purchase products and services from merchants and individualsalike. The transactions may take place directly between a conventionalor on-line merchant or retailer and the consumer, and payment istypically made by entering credit card or other financial information.Transactions may also take place with the aid of an on-line or mobilepayment service provider such as, for example, PayPal, Inc. of San Jose,Calif. Such payment service providers can make transactions easier andsafer for the parties involved. Purchasing with the assistance of apayment service provider from the convenience of virtually anywhereusing a mobile device is one main reason why on-line and mobilepurchases are growing very quickly.

As the money used in transactions moves from physical currency to theelectronic currency used, for example, in online and/or mobile paymentsystems, the tangible aspect of that money is lost. Conventionally, auser may have limited their spending by providing themselves a fixedamount of physical currency for a time period (e.g., each day, eachweek, etc.), and when that user ran out of physical currency they wereaware of their spending limitations because they no longer had thephysical currency in their possession to spend. To contrast, electroniccurrency payment instruments (e.g., credit cards, debit cards, online ormobile payment devices, etc.) may provide a user with access to all oftheir money, and sometimes allow a user to borrow more than the amountof money they have in order to make payments. Thus, the use ofelectronic currency limits the ability of users to easily track theirfinances and spending habits.

Thus, there is a need for a system that allows a user to quickly andeasily determine their financial strength.

SUMMARY

According to one embodiment, a method for providing an indication offinancial strength includes associating one or more financial indicatorswith one or more accounts of a user in a database. In some examples, theone or more accounts may be tracked and their associated financialindicators may then be provided or updated on a user device. In anotherexample, the one or more financial indicators may be associated with aspending budget for the one or more accounts in the database byassociating different financial indicators with respective differentpredetermined spending budget statuses, and when a payment request usingone of the accounts is received, a current spending budget status may bedetermined. The predetermined spending budget status that includes thecurrent spending budget status may then be used to retrieve itsassociated financial indicator, and that financial indicator may beprovided to the user so that the user is aware of their currentfinancial strength and how the payment request may affect it.

In an embodiment, financial indicators may include visual financialindicators that may be provided on icons displayed on a user device andthat may indicate current financial strength with regard to the one ormore accounts and/or spending budgets, and may be periodically orcontinuously updated to indicate current financial strength with regardto the one or more accounts and/or spending budgets. In otherembodiments, financial indicators may include visual financialindicators such as graphics, images, or video, and/or audio financialindicators such as audio files, and those financial indicators may beprovided at the time of a payment request to indicate the financialstrength of the user with regard to one or more payment accounts and/orspending budgets, along with how the payment request might effect thatfinancial strength.

As a result, a user may quickly and easily determine their financialstrength as it relates to one or more accounts and/or spending budgetsby referencing one or more financial indicators that are provided and/orperiodically updated on their user device. Furthermore, when making apurchase, good spending behavior with regard to one or more paymentaccounts and/or spending budgets may be reinforced with positive visualand/or audio financial indicators, while bad spending behavior withregard to one or more payment accounts and/or spending budgets may bediscouraged with negative visual and/or audio financial indicators.

These and other features and advantages of the present disclosure willbe more readily apparent from the detailed description of theembodiments set forth below taken in conjunction with the accompanyingfigures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of a method forproviding an indication of financial strength;

FIG. 2 a is a front view illustrating an embodiment of a user devicebeing used to set up a financial indicator;

FIG. 2 b is a front view illustrating an embodiment of a user devicebeing used to set financial indicator details;

FIG. 3 a is a front view illustrating an embodiment of a user devicedisplaying a financial indicator;

FIG. 3 b is a front view illustrating an embodiment of a user devicedisplaying a financial indicator;

FIG. 3 c is a front view illustrating an embodiment of a user devicedisplaying a financial indicator;

FIG. 3 d is a front view illustrating an embodiment of a user devicedisplaying a financial indicator;

FIG. 4 is a front view illustrating an embodiment of a user devicedisplaying a financial indicator;

FIG. 5 a is a front view illustrating an embodiment of a paymentterminal providing a financial indicator in response to a paymentrequest being made;

FIG. 5 b is a front view illustrating an embodiment of a paymentterminal providing a financial indicator in response to a paymentrequest being made;

FIG. 5 c is a front view illustrating an embodiment of a paymentterminal providing a financial indicator in response to a paymentrequest being made;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a networkedsystem;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating an embodiment of a userdevice;

FIG. 8 is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a computersystem; and

FIG. 9 is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a financialstrength indication system provider device.

Embodiments of the present disclosure and their advantages are bestunderstood by referring to the detailed description that follows. Itshould be appreciated that like reference numerals are used to identifylike elements illustrated in one or more of the figures, whereinshowings therein are for purposes of illustrating embodiments of thepresent disclosure and not for purposes of limiting the same.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure provides a system and method for providingindications of financial strength to a user so that the user can bettermonitor their financial situation. A financial indicator may beassociated with at least one account or a spending budget, and may becontinuously or periodically updated with the current status of the atleast one account or spending budget to provide the user with aquickly-referenced indication of their financial strength. Financialindicators may also be associated with predetermined statuses of aspending budget that is associated with one or more accounts, and when apayment request using one of payment accounts is received, a currentspending budget status is determined and compared to the predeterminedstatuses. The financial indicator associated with the predeterminedstatus that includes the current spending budget status may then be sentto a user device or payment terminal from where the payment request wasmade to provide the user an indication of their financial strength withregard to their spending budget and how the payment request might affectit. The system and methods herein may be used to provide a user withindications of their financial strength at any time, and may be providedto reinforce good spending behavior and discourage bad spending behaviordepending on a currently received payment request and the current statusof a spending budget.

Referring now to FIGS. 1, 2 a, and 2 b, a method 100 for providing anindication of financial strength is illustrated. In an embodiment of themethod 100 described below, one or more account providers provide a userwith one or more user payment accounts, and the user may use the userpayment accounts to fund payments for purchases made from merchants orother payees. In another embodiment, a payment service provider such as,for example, PayPal, Inc. of San Jose, Calif. assists in the making ofpayments from the user to the merchants or other payees by transferringfunds from the user payment account to a merchant account of themerchant. However, these embodiments are meant to be merely exemplary,and one of skill in the art will recognize that a variety ofmodifications may be made to the financial strength indication systemdiscussed below without departing from the scope of the presentdisclosure.

The method 100 begins at blocks 102 where a financial indicator and atleast one account of a user are received. In an embodiment, a userhaving a user device 200 with a display screen 202, illustrated in FIG.2 , may access their user financial account over a network (e.g., theInternet) by connecting to an account provider device of the accountprovider, may access a payment service account over the network byconnecting to a payment service provider device of a payment serviceprovider, may provide the instructions about a financial indicator andat least one financial account to a financial strength indication systemprovider device of a financial strength indication system provider, ormay provide the instructions about a financial indicator and at leastone financial account to the user device 200 (e.g., to a database orstorage device on the user device 200.) One of skill in the art willrecognize that any of an account provider, payment service provider,and/or other third party financial strength indication system providermay assist in providing indications of financial strength of a user asis described below. While the user device 200 is illustrated anddescribed below as a mobile device such as, for example, a mobile phoneor computer, one of skill in the art will recognize that the provisionof financial indicators and at least one account may be performed on adesktop computer, on other computing systems connected to a network,and/or using a variety of other devices known in the art.

As described in further detail below, financial indicators may beprovided in a variety of forms, including but not limited to visualfinancial indicators such as graphics, images, animated graphics, video,and/or a variety of other visual indicators known in the art. Financialindicators may also be provided as audio financial indicators includingaudio files, and may be provided in combination the visual financialindicators. Furthermore, as discussed below, a user may provide anymedia known in the art for use by the financial strength indicationsystem as a visual or audio financial indicator. In an embodiment ofblock 102 of the method 100, upon connecting to the account providerdevice, payment service provider device, or other financial strengthindication system provider device, the user may be provided with afinancial indicator set-up screen 204 (e.g., over the network.) Inanother embodiment of block 102 of the method 100, the financialindicator set-up screen 204 may be provided to the user by the userdevice 200 upon accessing a settings function in a financial strengthindication application. The financial indicator set-up screen 204 of theillustrated embodiment is provided as an example of how a financialindicator may be set up, but as discussed below, may be modified tocustomize the properties of financial indicators and associate anynumber of accounts, spending budgets, or other financial entities of theuser with the financial indicator as is desired.

The financial indicator set-up screen 204 includes an apply budgetselector 206 a along with a budget input 206 b that the user may use toselect (or create) a spending budget to associate with the financialindicator, an apply account selector 208 a along with an account input208 b that the user may use to select one or more accounts to associatedwith the financial indicator, an apply property selector 210 a alongwith a property input 210 b that the user may use to select one or moreproperties to associate with the financial indicator, and an applyproduct selector 212 a along with product input 212 b that the user mayuse to select one or more products (e.g., that the user is selling) toassociate with the financial indicator.

The financial indicator set-up screen 204 also includes a graphicaldisplay selector 214 that the user may select to have the financialindicator displayed visually or graphically, a numerical displayselector 216 that the user may select to have the financial indicatordisplay numerically, and an audio provision selector 218 that the usermay select to have the financial indicator provided as audio, all ofwhich are discussed in further detail below. The financial indicatorset-up screen 204 also includes an icon location selector 220 that theuser may select to have the financial indicator provided on an icon, apage location selector 222 that the user may select to have thefinancial indicator provided on an application home page, and a paymentterminal location selector 224 that the user may select to have thefinancial indicator provided on a payment terminal, all of which arediscussed in further detail below.

In an embodiment, in response to the user selecting the apply budgetselector 206 a and selecting (or creating) a spending budget in thebudget input 206 b, selecting the graphical display selector 214, andselecting the audio provision selector 216, the user may be presentedwith a financial indicator details screen 226, illustrated in FIG. 2 b .For example, the user may select or create a spending budget that setsan amount the user wishes to spend during a time period. For example,the user may only wish to spend a given amount of money ($100, $500,etc.) each day, week, month, or other period of time, and the spendingbudget may be set to track the users spending with regard to thosespending budget details. Furthermore, the user may associate spendingbudgets with different types of spending such as, for example, spendingon groceries, restaurants, bars, etc. While a few examples have beengiven, a variety of spending budgets will fall within the scope of thepresent disclosure. Furthermore, while the spending budgets aredescribed herein as directed to real currencies, they may be applied tovirtual currencies, such as those used in videos games, as well.

The financial indicator details screen 226 includes a graphicalfinancial indicator details section 228 that allows the user to selector provide images for financial indicators for a plurality ofpredetermined spending budget statuses, including an image input 228 afor a financial indicator that indicates when the user is below theirspending budget, an image input 228 b for a financial indicator thatindicates when the user has reached their spending budget, and an imageinput 228 c for a financial indicator that indicates when the user isover their spending budget. The financial indicator details screen 226also includes an audio financial indicator details section 230 thatallows the user to select or provide audio for a plurality ofpredetermined spending budget statuses, including in an audio input 230a for a financial indicator that indicates when the user is below theirspending budget, an audio input 230 b for a financial indicator thatindicates when the user has reached their spending budget, an audioinput 228 c for a financial indicator that indicates when the user isover their spending budget. In an embodiment, the user may select from aplurality of provided audio files, or may record a voice speaking intothe user device 200 to provide an audio file as an audio financialindicator, and that audio file may be sent over the network from theuser device for association with a predetermined spending budget status.

While a specific example of a financial indicator set-up screen 204 andfinancial indicator details screen 226 has been provided above thatallows a user to set up one or more financial indicators and providefinancial indictor details, a user is not required to set up a financialindicator. In an embodiment, an account provider, payment serviceprovider, or other financial strength indication system provider mayautomatically provide financial indicators that are associated withspending budgets, financial accounts, property values, product details,and/or a variety of other financial entities belonging to the user. Forexample, a spending budget application may include an application iconthat automatically includes a financial indicator associated with aspending budget created using the spending budget application, afinancial account application may include an application icon thatautomatically includes a financial indicator associated with a financialaccount (e.g., a payment account, a stock or other securities account, avirtual currency account, etc.), a property value application mayinclude an application icon that automatically includes a financialindicator associated with a piece of property, and a product sellingapplication may include an application icon that automatically includesa financial indicator associated with details of products being sold.Furthermore, details of the financial indicators may be defaulted (e.g.,for graphical display on an icon) and then adjustable by the user.

The method 100 then proceeds to block 104 where financial indicator(s)are associated with at least one account of the user in a database. Asdiscussed above, a variety of different financial indicators may beassociated with a variety of different user accounts at block 102. In anembodiment, the account provider device, payment service providerdevice, and/or other financial strength indication system providerdevice may receive the financial indicators, financial indicatordetails, and/or accounts at block 102 of the method 100 (e.g., over thenetwork from the user device 200) and associated them in a database. Inanother embodiment, the financial indicators, financial indicatordetails, and accounts may be associated in a database in the user device200. For example, a financial indicator may include a graphic that isdisplayed on an application icon and may be associated with one or morefinancial accounts, spending budgets, property values, or a product in adatabase. In another example, a financial indicator may include agraphic that is displayed on an application home page and may beassociated with one or more financial accounts in a database. In yetanother example, a plurality of financial indicators may include visualfinancial indicators and/or audio financial indicators that that may beprovided on a payment terminal or user device in response to a paymentrequest, and may be associated with one or more predetermined spendingbudget statuses in a database. While a few examples of the associationof financial indicators and accounts, budgets, property, and productshave been provided, financial indicators may be associated with anyfinancial entities and/or financial details of a user while remainingwithin the scope of the present disclosure.

Referring now to FIGS. 1, 3 a, 3 b, 3 c, 3 d, and 4, embodiments of themethod 100 that skip optional blocks 106 and 112 are illustrated anddescribed below. In these embodiments, the method 100 proceeds fromblock 104 to block 108 where a current status associated with the atleast one account is determined, and then to block 110 where a financialindicator is provided for display to the user.

For example, referring first to FIGS. 3 a and 3 b , the user device 200is illustrated displaying a home page 300, or mobile device“springboard”, that includes a plurality of application icons and/oruser-created shortcut icons. The plurality of application icons and/oruser-created shortcut icons include a financial application icon 302 a.In this embodiment, a visual financial indicator for graphical displayon the application icon 302 a, as discussed above, has been associatedwith one or more financial accounts, a spending budget, a propertyvalue, or a product detail (e.g., a product bid number and bid detailsfor a product listed on an auction), and is being displayed on thefinancial application icon 302 a. Thus, at block 108, a current statusassociated with the one or more financial accounts, a spending budget, aproperty value, or a product detail may be retrieved by the user device200, an account provider device, a payment service provider device,and/or a financial strength indication system provider device. Then, atblock 110, the financial indicator may be modified so that it reflectsthe current status of the associated account, retrieved at block 108,and then provided for display on the display screen 202 of the userdevice 202 to the user on the financial application icon 302 a.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 3 a , a current balance of a paymentaccount may have been retrieved at block 108, and the visual financialindicator that is displayed as a graphic on the application icon 302 amay be modified such that it includes a plurality of financial strengthbars 304 a, 304 b, 304 c, and so on, that reflect that current balanceof the payment account. In an embodiment, the “full” and “empty” accountbalance values may be preset and/or adjusted by the user such thatfinancial strength bars 304 a, 304 b, 304 c, etc. provide an indicationto the user of the financial strength of the user with regard to thepayment account, but would not indicate to a third party viewing theapplication icon 302 a/financial indicator the current balance of thepayment account. For example, the “full” account balance of the paymentaccount may be set at $10,000 and the “empty” account balance of thepayment account may be set at $100, and in the embodiment illustrated inFIG. 3 a , the financial indicator on the financial application icon 302a would indicate to the user that their financial account is at or closeto “full”/$10,000.

In another embodiment, the financial indicator on the application icon302 a illustrated in FIG. 3 a may be associated with a plurality ofpayment accounts, and the financial strength bars 304 a, 304 b, 304 c,etc. as illustrated would indicate to the user that those paymentaccounts are at a “full” account balance, whatever that amount has beenset at. In another embodiment, the financial indicator on theapplication icon 302 a illustrated in FIG. 3 a may be associated with aspending budget, and the financial strength bars 304 a, 304 b, 304 c,etc. as illustrated may indicate to the user that they have spent mostof their budget for whatever time period the budget is associated with(e.g., the financial strength bars 304 a, 304 b, 304 c, etc. are addedas spending associated with the spending budget occurs), may indicate tothe user that they have most of their spending budget left to spend(e.g., the financial strength bars 304 a, 304 b, 304 c, etc. are takenaway as spending associated with the spending budget occurs), and/or mayprovide other indications to the user as to the status of their spendingbudget depending on how the user has set up the financial indicator.

In another embodiment, the financial indicator on the application icon302 a illustrated in FIG. 3 a may be associated with a property value ora plurality of property values, and the financial strength bars 304 a,304 b, 304 c, etc. as illustrated may indicate to the user that theirproperty value is at a relatively high level (e.g., as set by the usersimilarly as discussed above, using averages of the property value overa predetermined time period, etc.) In yet another embodiment, thefinancial indicator on the application icon 302 a illustrated in FIG. 3a may be associated with a product, and the financial strength bars 304a, 304 b, 304 c, etc. as illustrated may indicate to the user thatoffers or bids on that product are close to an asking price (or otheruser desired price) of the product. While a few examples have beenprovided, the financial strength bars 304 a, 304 b, 304 c, etc. of thefinancial indicator illustrated in FIG. 3 a may be applied to otheraccounts of a user including, but not limited to, stock or othersecurity accounts, virtual currency accounts, and/or a variety of otheraccounts known in the art. Furthermore, coloring or other visualindicators may be used to indicate the financial strength of a userincluding, but not limited to, providing financial strength bars 304 a,304 b, 304 c, etc. in a green color when the financial strengthindication is relatively good, in a yellow color when the financialstrength indication is relatively neutral, and in a red color when thefinancial strength indication is relatively bad.

Referring now to FIG. 3 b , the determining of the current statusassociated with the at least one account at block 108 and the provisionof the financial indicator for display to the user may occurperiodically or continuously. For example, after the financial indicatorincluding the financial strength bars 304 a, 304 b, and 304 c has beendisplayed using the application icon 302 a, as illustrated in FIG. 3 a ,a new current status of the at least one account may be retrieved andused to modify the financial indicator such that financial strength bars304 d and 304 e are displayed on the application icon 302 a, asillustrated in FIG. 3 b.

Thus, in one of the examples provided above, the current balance of apayment account or plurality of payment accounts may have decreased, andthat would be indicated to the user by displaying the financialindicator on the application icon 302 a with less financial strengthbars (e.g., the financial strength bars 304 d and 304 e in FIG. 3 brelative to financial strength bars 304 a, 304 b, 304 c, etc. in FIG. 3a .) In another of the examples provided above, the current status of aspending budget may have changed (e.g., the user may have spent in amanner associated with the spending budget), and that change would beindicated to the user by displaying the financial indicator on theapplication icon 302 a with less financial strength bars (e.g., thefinancial strength bars 304 d and 304 e in FIG. 3 b relative tofinancial strength bars 304 a, 304 b, 304 c, etc. in FIG. 3 a .) Inanother of the examples provided above, the value of property may havedecreased, and that decrease would be indicated to the user bydisplaying the financial indicator on the application icon 302 a withless financial strength bars (e.g., the financial strength bars 304 dand 304 e in FIG. 3 b relative to financial strength bars 304 a, 304 b,304 c, etc. in FIG. 3 a .) In another of the examples provided above,the bids on a product may have been withdrawn, and that withdrawal wouldbe indicated to the user by displaying the financial indicator on theapplication icon 302 a with less financial strength bars (e.g., thefinancial strength bars 304 d and 304 e in FIG. 3 b relative tofinancial strength bars 304 a, 304 b, 304 c, etc. in FIG. 3 a .)

In another example, as illustrated in FIG. 3 c , product detailsassociated with the attempted sale of a product (e.g., a product auctionin the illustrated embodiment) may have been retrieved at block 108, andthe visual financial indicator that is provided for display to the userincludes a graphic on a product application icon 302 b that may bemodified such that it includes a plurality of product details 306 a and306 b that reflect the current status of the product sale. In theillustrated embodiment, the product detail 306 a indicates to a userthat a product they have for sale at auction has received 15 bids, andthe product detail 306 b indicates to the user that 3 of those bids areat the reserve price of the product (e.g., the lowest price at which theuser is willing to sell the product.) As discussed above with referenceto FIGS. 3 a and 3 b , blocks 108 and 110 may be periodically orcontinuously performed to update the product details 306 a and 306 b ofthe financial indicator displayed on the product application icon 302 bas details associated with the product change.

In another example, as illustrated in FIG. 3 d , a property value orproperty values may have been retrieved at block 108, and the visualfinancial indicator that is provided for display to the user includes agraphic on a property application icon 302 c that may be modified suchthat it includes a numerical financial indicator 308 that reflects thecurrent value of a piece of property or plurality of pieces of property.In the illustrated embodiment, the numerical financial indicator 308indicates to a user that the property or properties associated with thefinancial indicator are currently valued at $250,000. As discussed abovewith reference to FIGS. 3 a and 3 b , blocks 108 and 110 may beperiodically or continuously performed to update the numerical value 308for the property value or values on the financial indicator displayed onthe property application icon 302 c as that property value or thoseproperty values change.

In another example, referring now to FIG. 4 , the user device 200 isillustrated displaying an account application home page 400 thatincludes a stock or securities account activity section 402 having aplurality of account activities 402 a, 402 b, 402 c, and 402 d. Theaccount application home page 400 also includes a financial indicator404 having a plurality of financial strength bars 404 a, 404 b, 404 c,etc. that may be “filled”/colored or empty/unfilled/uncolored. In thisembodiment, a visual financial indicator for graphical display on anapplication home page 400, as discussed above, has been associated withone or more stock or security accounts and is being displayed on theaccount application home page 400. Thus, at block 108, a current statusassociated with the one or more stock or security accounts may beretrieved by the user device 200, an account provider device, a paymentservice provider device, and/or a financial strength indication systemprovider device. Then, at block 110, the financial indicator 404 may bemodified so that it reflects the current status retrieved at block 108and provided for display to the user on the account application homepage 400.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 4 , a current balance of a stock orsecurity account may have been retrieved at block 108, and the financialindicator 404 that is displayed as a graphic on the account applicationhome page 400 may be modified such that financial strength bars 404 a,404 b, 404 c, etc. are “filled”/colored and empty/unfilled/uncolored toreflect that current balance of the stock or security account. In anembodiment, the “full” and “empty” account balance values may be presetand/or adjusted by the user such that financial strength bars 404 a, 404b, 404 c, etc. provide an indication to the user of the financialstrength with regard to the stock or security account, but would notindicate to a third party viewing the account application home page400/financial indicator the current balance of the stock or securityaccount. For example, the “full” account balance of the stock orsecurity account may be set at $100,000 and the “empty” account balanceof the stock or security account may be set at $10,000, and in theembodiment illustrated in FIG. 3 a , the financial indicator 404 on thepayment application home page 400 would indicate to the user that theirstock or security account is approximately half full or at $50,000. Asdiscussed above with reference to FIGS. 3 a and 3 b , blocks 108 and 110may be periodically or continuously performed to update the financialindicator 404 on the account application home page 400 with“filled”/colored and empty/unfilled/uncolored financial strength bars404 a, 404 b, 404 c, etc. such that the financial indicator 404displayed on the account application home page 400 reflects the changingvalue of the stock or security account or accounts.

Referring now to FIGS. 1, 5 a, 5 b, and 5 c, an embodiment of the method100 that includes optional blocks 106 and 112 is illustrated anddescribed below. In this embodiment, a plurality of financial indicatorshave been associated with predetermined spending budget statuses for aspending budget associated with one or more payment accounts of theuser, as discussed above. Following block 104, the method 100 proceedsto block 106 where a payment request is received from a user. In theillustrated embodiment, a payment terminal 500 including a displayscreen 502 and a speaker 504 or other audio device is provided to theuser for making a payment for purchases. For example, a merchant mayprovide a merchant device that includes the payment terminal 500 at apoint-of-sale as part of a self check-out system in which the user scansproducts for purchase and provides payment using the payment terminal500, a credit card check-out system in which the merchant scans productsor inputs services into the system and the user provides payment usingthe payment terminal 500, and/or a variety of other merchant devicesknown in the art for providing payment by a user to a merchant. Thepayment terminal 500 may be provided by the user device 200 for the userto provide payments over a network (e.g., the user may use a mobilephone that displays the details illustrated in FIG. 5 a as beingdisplayed on the payment terminal 500.)

At block 106, the user may provide a payment instrument to the paymentterminal 500 in order to make a payment request to make a payment from auser payment account to a merchant account for products and/or servicesthat the user is purchasing from the merchant. For example, the user maypresent a credit card, debit card, or other payment instrument known inthe art to the payment terminal to send the payment request from arespective credit account, debit account, and/or other account. Inanother example, the payment terminal 500 may be the user device 200discussed above, and the user may use a payment application on the userdevice 200/payment terminal 500 to select a user payment account and/orotherwise make a payment request to make a payment using the userpayment account. The payment request is then sent over the network andreceived by an account provider device, payment service provider device,and/or financial strength indication system device.

The method 100 then proceeds to block 108 where a current statusassociated with the at least one account is retrieved. In an embodiment,upon receiving the payment request, the account provider device, paymentservice provider device, and/or financial strength indication systemdevice will determine the user payment account that is associated withthe payment request. The user payment account may then be used toretrieve the current status of that payment account and/or of one ormore other payment accounts of the user, which may include a currentbalance of the payment account, a current balance of the plurality ofpayment accounts, a current spending budget status associated with aspending budget that uses funds in the payment account, a currentspending budget status associated with a spending budget the uses fundsin the plurality of payment accounts, and/or a variety of other currentpayment account statuses known in the art. In the example illustrated inFIGS. 5 a, 5 b , and 5 c, a current spending budget status for one ormore payment accounts is retrieved by retrieving a plurality of spendingdetails related to purchases made over a time period (i.e., according toa spending budget set by the user) using the one or more paymentaccounts.

The method 100 then proceeds to block 110 where a financial indicator isprovided for display to the user. In an embodiment, the current spendingbudget status determined in block 108 may be compared to a plurality ofpredetermined spending budget statuses that are associated with thepayment account being used to make the payment request in order todetermine which of the predetermined spending budget statuses includethe current spending budget status. FIG. 5 a illustrates a situation inwhich the current spending budget status retrieved at block 108 isincluded in a predetermined spending budget status that is associatedwith a financial indicator that indicates to the user that they areabove their spending budget.

The payment terminal 500 in FIG. 5 a is displaying a payment requestdetail section 506 that includes an amount of the payment request, auser payment account identifier associated with the payment request, andmay include a variety of other payment request details known in the art.The payment terminal 500 is also displaying an authorization section 508that allows the user to authorize the payment request (e.g., by signingand selecting an accept button), discussed in further detail below. Thepayment terminal 500 may also display a financial indicator 510 that mayhave been determined by comparing the current spending budget statusdetermined at block 108 to a spending budget associated with the paymentaccount being used to make the payment request and which, in theillustrated embodiment, includes a plurality of financial strengthindicator bars 510 a, 510 b, 510 c, etc. that have been “filled”/coloredto indicate that the user is over their spending budget.

The payment terminal 500 or other financial indicator provisioningdevice may also display a visual financial indicator 512 that has beenprovided for display to the user by comparing the current spendingbudget status determined at block 108 to the plurality of predeterminedspending budgets (e.g., set at block 102) and retrieving the financialindicator associated with the predetermined spending budget status thatincludes the current budget status. In the illustrated embodiment, thevisual financial indicator 512 includes an image selected or provided bythe user (e.g., as discussed above with reference to FIG. 2 b ) toindicate to the user that they are above the spending budget, whichincludes a “thumbs down” image in the illustrated embodiment, but mayinclude video, animated graphics, and/or any other visual media the usermay have a negative association with. The payment terminal 500 or otherfinancial indicator provisioning device may also provide an audiofinancial indicator to the user using the speaker 504 or other audiodevice by comparing the current spending budget status determined atblock 108 to the plurality of predetermined spending budgets (e.g., setat block 102) and retrieving the audio financial indicator associatedwith the predetermined spending budget status that includes the currentbudget status. The audio financial indicator 512 includes an audio clipselected or provided by the user (e.g., as discussed above withreference to FIG. 2 b ) to indicate to the user that they are above thespending budget, which may include sad music, a voice recorded by theuser (e.g., “Stop spending money!”), and/or any audio that the user mayhave a negative association with. Thus, FIG. 5 a illustrates how thesystem may, upon receiving a payment request from a user, provide theuser with financial indicators that indicate to the user that they areabove a spending budget, and may provide negative images and/or audiothat discourage further spending that is above that spending budget.

FIG. 5 b illustrates a situation in which the current spending budgetstatus retrieved at block 108 is included in a predetermined spendingbudget status that is associated with a financial indicator thatindicates to the user that they are below their spending budget. Thepayment terminal 500 in FIG. 5 b is displaying the same payment requestdetail section 506 and authorization section 508 as discussed above.However, the payment terminal 500 may also display the financialindicator 510 that may have been determined by comparing the currentspending budget status determined at block 108 to spending budgetassociated with the payment account being used to make the paymentrequest and which, in the illustrated embodiment, includes the pluralityof financial strength indicator bars 510 a, 510 b, 510 c, etc. that havebeen “filled”/colored to indicate that the user is below their spendingbudget.

The payment terminal 500 or other financial indicator provisioningdevice may also display a visual financial indicator 514 that has beenprovided for display to the user by comparing the current spendingbudget status determined at block 108 to the plurality of predeterminedspending budgets (e.g., set at block 102) and retrieving the financialindicator associated with the predetermined spending budget status thatincludes the current budget status. In the illustrated embodiment, thevisual financial indicator 512 includes an image selected or provided bythe user (e.g., as discussed above with reference to FIG. 2 b ) toindicate to the user that they are below the spending budget, whichincludes a “thumbs up” image in the illustrated embodiment, but mayinclude video, animated graphics, and/or any other visual media the usermay have a positive association with. The payment terminal 500 or otherfinancial indicator provisioning device may also provide an audiofinancial indicator to the user using the speaker 504 or other audiodevice by comparing the current spending budget status determined atblock 108 to the plurality of predetermined spending budgets (e.g., setat block 102) and retrieving the audio financial indicator associatedwith the predetermined spending budget status that includes the currentbudget status. The audio financial indicator 512 includes an audio clipselected or provided by the user (e.g., as discussed above withreference to FIG. 2 b ) to indicate to the user that they are below thespending budget, which may include happy music, a voice recorded by theuser (e.g., “Nice job!”), and/or any audio that the user may have apositive association with. Thus, FIG. 5 b illustrates how the systemmay, upon receiving a payment request from a user, provide the user withfinancial indicators that indicate to the user that they are below aspending budget, and may provide positive images and/or audio thatindicate to the user that further spending within the spending budget isokay.

FIG. 5 c illustrates a situation in which the current spending budgetstatus retrieved at block 108 is included in a predetermined spendingbudget status that is associated with a financial indicator thatindicates to the user that they have reached their spending budget. Thepayment terminal 500 in FIG. 5 c is displaying the same payment requestdetail section 506 and authorization section 508 as discussed above.However, the payment terminal 500 may also display the financialindicator 510 that may have been determined by comparing the currentspending budget status determined at block 108 to spending budgetassociated with the payment account being used to make the paymentrequest and which, in the illustrated embodiment, includes the pluralityof financial strength indicator bars 510 a, 510 b, 510 c, etc. that havebeen “filled”/colored to indicate that the user has reached theirspending budget.

The payment terminal 500 or other financial indicator provisioningdevice may also display a visual financial indicator 516 that has beenprovided for display to the user by comparing the current spendingbudget status determined at block 108 to the plurality of predeterminedspending budgets (e.g., set at block 102) and retrieving the financialindicator associated with the predetermined spending budget status thatincludes the current budget status. In the illustrated embodiment, thevisual financial indicator 512 includes an image selected or provided bythe user (e.g., as discussed above with reference to FIG. 2 b ) toindicate to the user that they have reached their spending budget, whichincludes a “webbing finger” image in the illustrated embodiment, but mayinclude video, animated graphics, and/or any other visual media the usermay associate with a warning The payment terminal 500 may also providean audio financial indicator to the user using the speaker 504 or otheraudio device by comparing the current spending budget status determinedat block 108 to the plurality of predetermined spending budgets (e.g.,set at block 102) and retrieving the audio financial indicatorassociated with the predetermined spending budget status that includesthe current budget status. The audio financial indicator 512 includes anaudio clip selected or provided by the user (e.g., as discussed abovewith reference to FIG. 2 b ) to indicate to the user that they havereached their spending budget, which may include a warning sound, avoice recorded by the user (e.g., “Watch it!”), and/or any audio thatthe user may associate with a warning. Thus, FIG. 5 c illustrates howthe system may, upon receiving a payment request from a user, providethe user with financial indicators that indicate to the user that theyhave reached a spending budget, and may provide warning images and/oraudio that indicate to the user that that they should be cautious withfurther spending associated with the spending budget.

The method 100 then may proceed to block 112 where user paymentauthorization may be received. In some situations, it is expected that auser will receive warning images/audio and/or negative images/audio anddecide not to make the payment, in which case block 112 of the method100 will be skipped. However, upon receiving positive images/audio, theuser may use the authorization section 508 to send an authorization overthe network to make the payment according to the payment request to theaccount provider device or payment service provider device, which willcause a transfer of funds from the user payment account to a merchantaccount of the merchant.

Thus, a system and method for providing an indication of financialstrength has been described that associates visual and/or audiofinancial indicators with accounts of a user that may include financialaccounts, spending budgets associated with financial accounts, property,products, and/or a variety of other financial entities known in the art.Users may be provided with the financial indicator as quickly referencedindicator of their financial strength as it relates to one or morefinancial accounts, spending budgets, owned property, products for sale,etc. Users may also be provided with financial indicator upon making apayment request for a purchase to encourage good spending behavior anddiscourage bad spending behavior (e.g., according to balances in paymentaccounts, statuses of spending budget, etc.)

Referring now to FIG. 6 , an embodiment of a networked system 600 usedin the financial strength indication system described above isillustrated. The networked system 600 includes a plurality of userdevices 602, a plurality of merchant devices 604, a payment serviceprovider device 606, a plurality of account holder devices 608, and afinancial strength indication system provider device 609 incommunication over a network 610. Any of the user devices 602 may be theuser device 200, discussed above. The merchant devices 604 may be themerchant devices discussed above (e.g., including the payment terminal500) and may be operated by the merchants discussed above. The paymentservice provider device 606 may be the payment service provider devicesdiscussed above and may be operated by a payment service provider suchas, for example, PayPal Inc. of San Jose, Calif. The account providerdevices 608 may be the account provider devices discussed above and maybe operated by the account providers discussed above such as, forexample, credit card account providers, bank account providers, savingsaccount providers, and a variety of other account providers known in theart. The financial strength indication system provider device 609 may bethe financial strength indication system provider devices discussedabove and may be operated by the financial strength indication systemproviders discussed above.

The user devices 602, merchant devices 604, payment service providerdevice 606, account provider devices 608, and/or financial strengthindication system provider device 609 may each include one or moreprocessors, memories, and other appropriate components for executinginstructions such as program code and/or data stored on one or morecomputer readable mediums to implement the various applications, data,and steps described herein.

For example, such instructions may be stored in one or more computerreadable mediums such as memories or data storage devices internaland/or external to various components of the system 600, and/oraccessible over the network 610.

The network 610 may be implemented as a single network or a combinationof multiple networks. For example, in various embodiments, the network610 may include the Internet and/or one or more intranets, landlinenetworks, wireless networks, and/or other appropriate types of networks.

The user device 602 may be implemented using any appropriate combinationof hardware and/or software configured for wired and/or wirelesscommunication over network 610. For example, in one embodiment, the userdevice 602 may be implemented as a personal computer of a user incommunication with the Internet. In other embodiments, the user device602 may be a smart phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), laptopcomputer, and/or other types of computing devices.

The user device 602 may include one or more browser applications whichmay be used, for example, to provide a convenient interface to permitthe user to browse information available over the network 610. Forexample, in one embodiment, the browser application may be implementedas a web browser configured to view information available over theInternet.

The user device 602 may also include one or more toolbar applicationswhich may be used, for example, to provide user-side processing forperforming desired tasks in response to operations selected by the user.In one embodiment, the toolbar application may display a user interfacein connection with the browser application.

The user device 602 may further include other applications as may bedesired in particular embodiments to provide desired features to theuser device 602. In particular, the other applications may include apayment application for payments assisted by a payment service providerthrough the payment service provider device 606. The other applicationsmay also include security applications for implementing user-sidesecurity features, programmatic user applications for interfacing withappropriate application programming interfaces (APIs) over the network610, or other types of applications. Email and/or text applications mayalso be included, which allow the payer to send and receive emailsand/or text messages through the network 610. The user device 602includes one or more user and/or device identifiers which may beimplemented, for example, as operating system registry entries, cookiesassociated with the browser application, identifiers associated withhardware of the user device 602, or other appropriate identifiers, suchas a phone number. In one embodiment, the user identifier may be used bythe payment service provider device 606 and/or account provider device608 to associate the user with a particular account as further describedherein.

The merchant device 604 may be maintained, for example, by aconventional or on-line merchant, conventional or digital goods seller,individual seller, and/or application developer offering variousproducts and/or services in exchange for payment to be receivedconventionally or over the network 610. In this regard, the merchantdevice 604 may include a database identifying available products and/orservices (e.g., collectively referred to as items) which may be madeavailable for viewing and purchase by the user.

The merchant device 604 also includes a checkout application which maybe configured to facilitate the purchase by the payer of items. Thecheckout application may be configured to accept payment informationfrom the user through the user device 602, the account provider throughthe account provider device 608, and/or from the payment serviceprovider through the payment service provider device 606 over thenetwork 610.

Referring now to FIG. 7 , an embodiment of a user device 700 isillustrated. The user device 700 may be the user devices 200 and/or 602.The user device 700 includes a chassis 702 having a display 704 and aninput device including the display 704 and a plurality of input buttons706. One of skill in the art will recognize that the user device 700 isa portable or mobile phone including a touch screen input device and aplurality of input buttons that allow the functionality discussed abovewith reference to the method 100. However, a variety of otherportable/mobile payer devices and/or desktop payer devices may be usedin the method 100 without departing from the scope of the presentdisclosure.

Referring now to FIG. 8 , an embodiment of a computer system 800suitable for implementing, for example, the user device 200, the userdevice 602, the user device 700, the merchant device 604, the paymentservice provider device 606, the account provider device 608, and/or thefinancial strength indication system provider device 609 is illustrated.It should be appreciated that other devices utilized by users,merchants, payment service providers, account providers, and otherfinancial strength indication system providers in the financial strengthindication system discussed above may be implemented as the computersystem 800 in a manner as follows.

In accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure,computer system 800, such as a computer and/or a network server,includes a bus 802 or other communication mechanism for communicatinginformation, which interconnects subsystems and components, such as aprocessing component 804 (e.g., processor, micro-controller, digitalsignal processor (DSP), etc.), a system memory component 806 (e.g.,RAM), a static storage component 808 (e.g., ROM), a disk drive component810 (e.g., magnetic or optical), a network interface component 812(e.g., modem or Ethernet card), a display component 814 (e.g., CRT orLCD), an input component 818 (e.g., keyboard, keypad, or virtualkeyboard), a cursor control component 820 (e.g., mouse, pointer, ortrackball), and/or a location determination component 822 (e.g., aGlobal Positioning System (GPS) device as illustrated, a cell towertriangulation device, and/or a variety of other location determinationdevices known in the art.) In one implementation, the disk drivecomponent 810 may comprise a database having one or more disk drivecomponents.

In accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, the computersystem 800 performs specific operations by the processor 804 executingone or more sequences of instructions contained in the memory component806, such as described herein with respect to the user device 200, 602,and 700, the merchant device(s) 604, the payment service provider device606, the account provider device(s) 608, and/or the financial strengthindication system provider device 609. Such instructions may be readinto the system memory component 806 from another computer readablemedium, such as the static storage component 808 or the disk drivecomponent 810. In other embodiments, hard-wired circuitry may be used inplace of or in combination with software instructions to implement thepresent disclosure.

Logic may be encoded in a computer readable medium, which may refer toany medium that participates in providing instructions to the processor804 for execution. Such a medium may take many forms, including but notlimited to, non-volatile media, volatile media, and transmission media.In an embodiment, the computer readable medium is non-transitory. Invarious implementations, non-volatile media includes optical or magneticdisks, such as the disk drive component 810, volatile media includesdynamic memory, such as the system memory component 806, andtransmission media includes coaxial cables, copper wire, and fiberoptics, including wires that comprise the bus 802. In one example,transmission media may take the form of acoustic or light waves, such asthose generated during radio wave and infrared data communications.

Some common forms of computer readable media includes, for example,floppy disk, flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, any other magneticmedium, CD-ROM, any other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape, anyother physical medium with patterns of holes, RAM, PROM, EPROM,FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, carrier wave, or anyother medium from which a computer is adapted to read.

In various embodiments of the present disclosure, execution ofinstruction sequences to practice the present disclosure may beperformed by the computer system 800. In various other embodiments ofthe present disclosure, a plurality of the computer systems 800 coupledby a communication link 824 to the network 610 (e.g., such as a LAN,WLAN, PTSN, and/or various other wired or wireless networks, includingtelecommunications, mobile, and cellular phone networks) may performinstruction sequences to practice the present disclosure in coordinationwith one another.

The computer system 800 may transmit and receive messages, data,information and instructions, including one or more programs (i.e.,application code) through the communication link 824 and the networkinterface component 812. The network interface component 812 may includean antenna, either separate or integrated, to enable transmission andreception via the communication link 824. Received program code may beexecuted by processor 804 as received and/or stored in disk drivecomponent 810 or some other non-volatile storage component forexecution.

Referring now to FIG. 9 , an embodiment of a financial strengthindication system provider device 900 is illustrated. In an embodiment,the device 900 may be the user device 200, 602, and 700, the paymentservice provider device 606, the account provider device 608, and/or athird party device. The device 900 includes a communication engine 902that is coupled to the network 610 and to a financial strengthindication engine 904 that is coupled to a user database 906 and afinancial indicator database 908. The communication engine 902 may besoftware or instructions stored on a computer-readable medium thatallows the device 900 to send and receive information over the network610. The financial strength indication engine 904 may be software orinstructions stored on a computer-readable medium that is operable toreceive financial indicators, associate financial indicators in thefinancial indicator database 908 with payment accounts in the userdatabase 906, receive payment requests, determine a current status ofaccounts of a user in the user database 906, compare the current statusof spending budgets of a user to predetermined statuses in the financialindicator database 908, provide financial indicators for display to theuser, and provide any of the other functionality that is discussedabove. While the databases 906 and 908 has been illustrated as locatedin the device 900, one of skill in the art will recognize that they maybe connected to the financial strength indication system provider device900 through the network 210 without departing from the scope of thepresent disclosure.

Where applicable, various embodiments provided by the present disclosuremay be implemented using hardware, software, or combinations of hardwareand software. Also, where applicable, the various hardware componentsand/or software components set forth herein may be combined intocomposite components comprising software, hardware, and/or both withoutdeparting from the scope of the present disclosure. Where applicable,the various hardware components and/or software components set forthherein may be separated into sub-components comprising software,hardware, or both without departing from the scope of the presentdisclosure. In addition, where applicable, it is contemplated thatsoftware components may be implemented as hardware components andvice-versa.

Software, in accordance with the present disclosure, such as programcode and/or data, may be stored on one or more computer readablemediums. It is also contemplated that software identified herein may beimplemented using one or more general purpose or specific purposecomputers and/or computer systems, networked and/or otherwise. Whereapplicable, the ordering of various steps described herein may bechanged, combined into composite steps, and/or separated into sub-stepsto provide features described herein.

The foregoing disclosure is not intended to limit the present disclosureto the precise forms or particular fields of use disclosed. As such, itis contemplated that various alternate embodiments and/or modificationsto the present disclosure, whether explicitly described or impliedherein, are possible in light of the disclosure. For example, the aboveembodiments have focused on users and merchants; however, a user orconsumer can pay, or otherwise interact with any type of recipient,including charities and individuals. The payment does not have toinvolve a purchase, but may be a loan, a charitable contribution, agift, etc. Thus, merchant as used herein can also include charities,individuals, and any other entity or person receiving a payment from auser. Having thus described embodiments of the present disclosure,persons of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that changes may bemade in form and detail without departing from the scope of the presentdisclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is limited only by the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: accessing, by a processor,an account update indicating at least one change to a financialindicator associated with a user account of a user of a mobile device,the user account associated with a user budget with a user-selectedbudget goal and an account balance; determining, by the processor basedon analysis of the user budget with the account update, to modify atleast one of a plurality of financial strength indicators of a financialindicator graphic for the financial indicator, the financial indicatorgraphic associated with an application icon for an application of amobile device, the application configured to display detailedinformation for the user account upon execution of the application, thefinancial indicator graphic displayed on the application icon andindicating a current status of the financial indicator; generating, bythe processor based on the determining to modify the at least one of theplurality of financial strength indicators, a new layout of theplurality of financial strength indicators of the financial indicatorgraphic, the new layout being different from an initial layout displayedby the application icon prior to said accessing the account update;communicating, by the processor, the new layout to the mobile device forthe financial indicator graphic of the application icon to include themodified at least one of the plurality of financial strength indicatorsin the new layout, wherein the financial indicator graphic is modifiableto indicate subsequent changes to the user-selected budget goal;detecting, by the processor, a transaction processing parameterassociated with the financial indicator, wherein the transactionprocessing parameter indicates a transaction processed using the useraccount; automatically modifying, by the processor, a display of theapplication icon based on the transaction processing parameter, whereinthe display indicates a change to the financial indicator graphic basedon the transaction processed using the user account; and dynamicallyupdating, by the processor, the modified display of the application iconbased on the transaction processed using the user account.
 2. The methodof claim 1, wherein modifying the financial indicator graphic toindicate subsequent changes to the user-selected budget goal comprises:detecting, by the processor, a scan of an item by a merchant deviceduring a payment request, the item being indicated by the user-selectedbudget goal; processing, by the processor, the transaction for the itemusing funds from the account balance; and generating, by the processor,a further modified layout of the plurality of financial strengthindicators of the financial indicator graphic based on an additionalaccount update indicting the user has met the user-selected budget goal,wherein the display is modified based on the further modified layout. 3.The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, by the processor,the account update for a plurality of user budgets including the userbudget, each of the plurality of user budgets associated with respectiveones of a plurality of user-selected budget goals, wherein saidaccessing the account update is based on the received account update. 4.The method of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of financialstrength indicators comprises an account balance level indicatorassociated with the user account or a parameter of the user-selectedbudget goal, and the account balance level indicator obfuscating abalance of the user account from display.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein at least one of the plurality of financial strength indicatorsindicates whether the user account is at or below the user-selectedbudget goal.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: providing, bythe processor, a second user interface to the mobile device of the userthat includes one or more selectable options to change expressions forthe financial indicator, wherein the one or more selectable optionsinclude graphical indicators or auditory indicators, wherein thegraphical indicators include the financial indicator graphic.
 7. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the financial indicator graphic does notinclude any personal information associated with the user or detailedinformation about the user account.
 8. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: responsive to detecting an icon selection of the applicationicon by the user, communicating, by the processor, additionalinformation to the mobile device, the additional information comprisingthe detailed information for the user account and the user-selectedbudget goal that is accessible by the user upon the execution of theapplication associated with the application icon.
 9. A server,comprising: a non-transitory memory storing instructions; and aprocessor configured to execute the instructions to cause the server to:monitor transaction activity associated with a user account of a user ofa mobile device, the user account associated with a user budget with auser-selected budget goal and an account balance; determine, based onthe monitoring of the transaction activity, an account update indicatingat least one change to a financial indicator associated with the useraccount or the user budget; determine, based on analysis of the userbudget with the account update, to modify at least one of a plurality offinancial strength indicators of a financial indicator graphic for thefinancial indicator, the financial indicator graphic associated with anapplication icon configured to display detailed information for the useraccount upon execution of an application associated with the applicationicon, the financial indicator graphic displayed on the application iconand indicating a current status of the financial indicator, theplurality of financial strength indicators of the financial indicatorgraphic arranged on the application icon according to an initial layout;update, based on the determination to modify the at least one of theplurality of financial strength indicators, the initial layout of theplurality of financial strength indicators as a new layout, the newlayout being different from the initial layout displayed by theapplication icon; provide the new layout to the mobile device for thefinancial indicator graphic of the application icon to include themodified at least one of the plurality of financial strength indicatorsin the new layout, wherein the financial indicator graphic is modifiableto indicate subsequent changes to the user-selected budget goal; detecta transaction processing parameter associated with the financialindicator, wherein the transaction processing parameter indicates atransaction processed using the user account; automatically modify adisplay of the application icon based on the transaction processingparameter, wherein the display indicates a change to the financialindicator graphic based on the transaction processed using the useraccount; and dynamically update the modified display of the applicationicon based on the transaction processed using the user account.
 10. Theserver of claim 9, wherein executing the instructions further causes theserver to provide a second user interface to the mobile device of theuser that includes one or more selectable options to change expressionsfor the financial indicator, wherein the one or more selectable optionsinclude graphical indicators or auditory indicators, wherein thegraphical indicators include the financial indicator graphic.
 11. Theserver of claim 9, wherein modifying the financial indicator graphic toindicate subsequent changes to the user-selected budget goal comprises:detecting a scan of an item by a merchant device during a paymentrequest, the item being indicated by the user-selected budget goal;processing transaction for the item, associated with the user-selectedbudget goal, using funds from the account balance; and generating afurther modified layout of the plurality of financial strengthindicators of the financial indicator graphic based on an additionalaccount update indicting the user has met the user-selected budget goal,wherein the display is modified based on the further modified layout.12. The server of claim 9, wherein executing the instructions furthercauses the server to receive the account update for a plurality of userbudgets including the user budget, each of the plurality of user budgetsassociated with respective one of a plurality of user-selected budgetgoals, wherein said determining the account update is further based onthe received account update.
 13. The server of claim 9, wherein each ofthe plurality of financial strength indicators comprises an accountbalance level indicator associated with the user account or a parameterof the user-selected budget goal, and the account balance levelindicator obfuscating a balance of the user account from display. 14.The server of claim 9, wherein the financial indicator graphic does notinclude any personal information associated with the user or detailedinformation about the user account.
 15. A non-transitorymachine-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, theinstructions executable to cause performance of operations comprising:monitoring transaction activity associated with a user account of a userof a mobile device, the user account associated with a user budget witha user-selected budget goal and an account balance; determining, basedon the monitoring of the transaction activity, an account updateindicating at least one change to a financial indicator associated withthe user account or the user budget; determining, based on analysis ofthe user budget with the account update, to modify at least one of aplurality of financial strength indicators of a financial indicatorgraphic for the financial indicator, the financial indicator graphicassociated with an application icon configured to display detailedinformation for the user account upon execution of an applicationassociated with the application icon, the financial indicator graphicdisplayed on the application icon and indicating a current status of thefinancial indicator, the plurality of financial strength indicators ofthe financial indicator graphic arranged on the application iconaccording to an initial layout; updating, based on the determining tomodify the at least one of the plurality of financial strengthindicators, the initial layout of the plurality of financial strengthindicators as a new layout, the new layout being different from theinitial layout displayed by the application icon; providing the newlayout to the mobile device for the financial indicator graphic of theapplication icon to include the modified at least one of the pluralityof financial strength indicators in the new layout, wherein thefinancial indicator graphic is modifiable to indicate subsequent changesto the user-selected budget goal; detecting a transaction processingparameter associated with the financial indicator, wherein thetransaction processing parameter indicates a transaction processed usingthe user account; automatically modifying a display of the applicationicon based on the transaction processing parameter, wherein the displayindicates a change to the financial indicator graphic based on thetransaction processed using the user account; and dynamically updatingthe modified display of the application icon based on the transactionprocessed using the user account.
 16. The non-transitorymachine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein modifying the financialindicator graphic to indicate subsequent changes to the user-selectedbudget goal comprises: detecting a scan of an item by a merchant deviceduring a payment request, the item being indicated by the user-selectedbudget goal; processing a transaction for the item, associated with theuser-selected budget goal, using funds from the account balance; andgenerating a further modified layout of the plurality of financialstrength indicators of the financial indicator graphic based on anadditional account update indicting the user has met the user-selectedbudget goal, wherein the display is modified based on the furthermodified layout.
 17. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim15, wherein the operations further comprise receiving the account updatefor a plurality of user budgets including the user budget, each of theplurality of user budgets associated with a respective one of aplurality of user-selected budget goals, wherein said determining theaccount update is further based on the received account update.
 18. Thenon-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein theoperations further comprise, in response to detecting an icon selectionof the application icon by the user, communicating additionalinformation to the mobile device, the additional information comprisingthe detailed information for the user account and the user-selectedbudget goal that is accessible by the user upon the execution of theapplication associated with the application icon.
 19. The non-transitorymachine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein each of the plurality offinancial strength indicators comprises an account balance levelindicator associated with the user account or a parameter of theuser-selected budget goal, and the account balance level indicatorobfuscating a balance of the user account from display.
 20. Thenon-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein thefinancial indicator graphic does not include any personal informationassociated with the user or detailed information about the user account.